Pearls in Wine
by Higuchimon
Summary: [one-shot, Yu-Gi-Oh Pairings Challenge, Season 7, Round 1, Atemu x Jounouchi/Jounouchi x Atemu, Dragonshipping, alternate universe: independent bodies post-canon] Atemu wants to share some of his old life with the people that he cares about the most, especially Jounouchi.


**Disclaimer:** I own nothing involved in this story unless I invented it myself. This is written for fun, not for profit. **Fandom:** Yu-Gi-Oh  
**Title:** Pearls in Wine  
**Romance:** Yami no Yuugi x Jounouchi  
**Word Count:** 2,111  
**Genre:** Romance, Friendship  
**Status:** Complete  
**Rated:** PG-13  
**Note:** This is a mild AU, taking place a year or so past the Ceremonial Duel. While Atem lost, because of his good works and so he can finish out his mortal life, he was granted his own body.  
**Summary:** Atem wants to share some of his old life with the people that he cares about the most, especially Jounouchi.

* * *

"What did you say this was called again?" Jounouchi stared at the ingredients spread out on the counter, still not entirely sure about what Atem was doing. It _sounded_ all right, but the concept of cooking an Ancient Egyptian dish was just a little stranger.

"They're called Tiger Nut Sweets." Atem told him, going over what he had bought at the grocery store. "Dates mixed with water, cinnamon, and chopped walnuts, then coated with honey and ground almonds."

Jounouchi picked up a date and started to nibble on it. Not really one of his favorites, but it wasn't making him sick to his stomach. And at least they weren't what the name sounded like. "So what are you making them for?"

"Because now that I have my memories, I want to share some of my world with all of you." Atem replied patiently. It was still somewhat odd interacting with everyone as an equal and not just 'the other Yuugi', who only came out in times of stress and dueling. But he was determined to get used to it. He had been given this chance to finish out a mortal life, and he wasn't going to waste it. That meant doing things for the people that he cared about.

He glanced briefly at Jounouchi, his heart warming briefly as he did. There were few that he cared about more than that young blond as well. There was Yuugi, but the way he felt about his partner was something different than what he felt about Jounouchi.

_This has only been sine I gained this new body._ He wasn't certain if it was _because_ of having his own form now or what. He hadn't had feelings like that towards anyone else, male or female.

The Pharaoh was not going to let himself be distracted from what he was trying to do, however. Making Tiger Nut Sweets wouldn't take all that long. Most of the work was taken up with preparation, and they didn't need to be cooked at all.

"Is this really what you ate back then?" Jounouchi had wanted to get inside the palace and see what kind of food had been available, but that hadn't been possible when they'd visited the realm of memory.

"This was frequently used as a dessert," Atem replied, measuring out how many dates he was going to need. It had been so long, and the memory of how he had died had been somewhat more immediate than the times when he'd made this as a treat after lessons with Mahaado and Mana. "We ate fish and bread, fruits and vegetables. The recipes were different, but most of the foods were the same. With a few exceptions."

Jounouchi swallowed his date and nodded. "Sounds like it was pretty great being a pharaoh."

"It had its moments." Atem smiled briefly as he began to blend the dates with the water. He'd bought spring water just for this; it wasn't quite as good as water from the Nile, but it would have to do.

He peeked now and then over at Jounouchi as he worked. Jounouchi had taken one of the seats around the table, and had tilted it back, tossing another date around.

"There's got to be another tournament sometime soon," he said. "Something where we can all be in it together." He grinned fiercely at that. "Something where we can want to win it because we're the best, not just because of the world needing to be saved or whatever."

Atem considered that as he continued to blend water and dates together. "That would be good." To duel someone just for the pure, raw pleasure of it. He smiled. It had been a while since he'd done that. Not since …not since he'd dueled Jounouchi himself after Battle City.

That had been one of the best duels he could have ever had. There was nothing on the line but the sheer joy the two of them had in the game, in playing against one another, in wanting to see, simply, who was best, and if Jounouchi had truly earned the Red Eyes Black Dragon back.

_"This is yours, Jounouchi. You've earned it." Atem, though he had not remembered his true name then, had handed it over with pride. He could tell that the card wanted to go back to Jounouchi. _

_ "Thanks! Man, that was the best duel ever!" Amber eyes glowed with warmth as Jounouchi accepted the card, staring down at it with a tenderness that virtually no one would have ever thought he was capable of feeling. Atem had been, would always be, honored to be one of the few who knew differently. _

_ Jounouchi Katsuya was every bit as capable of the softer emotions as anyone else in the world. He simply did not want it known. He had too much pride for that._

Atem understood pride. It was part of what ruled his own life. Who was prouder than the Pharaoh, in whose hands had been the fate of the entire world: twice?

"Atem? Atem?" Something poked at his arm and he looked up to see Jounouchi standing beside him. "Hey, you all right?"

"What? Oh, yes." Atem shook his head. He didn't drift off like that often. He glanced down to be certain that his work hadn't suffered, and was both surprised and pleased to see that most of it was already done.

Jounouchi still looked a little disturbed. "Are you sure? You looked kind of like you were off in your own world or something."

"I was." Atem smiled for a moment. "I was thinking about you, actually."

From the way Jounouchi jumped, that had not been what he'd expected to hear. "You were what?"

"About how we both have such pride." Atem decided not to say anything else other than that. He didn't want to disturb his friend. He got back to work, chopping the walnuts and mixing them and the cinnamon in with the dates. He glanced briefly over to the farthest counter as he did, to where a glass stood three-quarters full.

_I suppose it's just as well I have no pearls for that._ With the return of his memories had come more than just the last days of his life. Customs, beliefs, all the millions of little memories that had made up his entire life had slowly refit themselves into his mind. It was sometimes hard to reconcile what and who he had once been with who he was going to be in this new world and body, but he was managing, to some degree at any rate.

He reached over and picked up the cup of wine, sipping at it. This really didn't taste anything like what he remembered having at the palace, but it was rich and full and excellent in its own way.

"Why do you drink that?" Jounouchi made a face as Atem put it down. "That's something that Kaiba would drink."

"Habit." Atem shrugged briefly as he began to shape the dates into balls. "We almost always drank beer or wine."

"What about coffee? Or tea?" Jounouchi shifted himself to be a little more comfortable. Atem recalled that Jounouchi's father had a problem with alcohol. It wasn't something he remembered clearly, since Yuugi had learned that before Atem himself had been more than a semi-comatose spirit within the depths of the Millennium Puzzle. But he did recall it, as he did most facts that had to do with Jounouchi.

Atem shook his head. "We didn't have those. Almost everyone drank some form of water, beer, or wine." He didn't quite feel like giving a lecture on everything they ate or drank at the moment, though. He did have a taste for many modern foods, especially hamburgers, which he firmly believed he'd picked up from Yuugi. But when it came to liquids, wine was still one of his favorites.

"Just don't go crazy with it." Jounouchi sipped at his own can of coffee, still tilted back on the chair. Atem still watched him from the corner of his eyes, wondering at some of the thoughts that passed through his mind. Admiration at the way Jounouchi's hair framed his face. Appreciating the way his eyes smoldered when he was fired up about something.

He admired Jounouchi's hands as well. They were strong and well-muscled, easily adaptable to fighting or to dueling. If he had lived in Egypt, Atem was quite certain that he would have been a fine warrior. Mahaado would have wanted him for inclusion in the royal guard. _He would have a strong ka as well. I wonder what it would be._ His beloved Red Eyes? It was quite possible. While some people's ka did resemble them, or vice versa, there were just as many who didn't. One couldn't be certain by looking alone.

Atem managed to keep enough of his attention on what he was doing so he didn't drift off again. Soon he had the Tiger Nut Sweets finished, and he presented the tray of them to Jounouchi. "There. A treat from three thousand years ago." More or less, at any rate. The time between then and now had always been rather difficult to pin down.

Jounouchi picked one up and sniffed it before nibbling on it more cautiously than he had the original date. Then his eyes widened and he ate it even more enthusiastically, crunching the almonds and walnuts and licked at the traces of honey that ended up on his fingers and lips. "That is _awesome_!"

"Have some more. They're not that hard to make." Atem set the tray down where they could both easily get to it and picked one up for himself. "Just make sure to save some for Yuugi once he gets off of work."

"Right. Though we could take some over to the shop?" Jounouchi glanced to the kitchen door; the game shop itself was only the distance of about five steps beyond that. "Maybe later? He's probably busy."

Atem nodded a little. "And Grandpa wouldn't like it if the inventory had honey on it." He watched as Jounouchi ate another of the dates and licked his fingers off some more. Seeing his tongue do that sent shivers all throughout the Pharaoh's body.

"Hey, your hands are all sticky." Jounouchi reached out and grabbed Atem's before he could do anything. "Didn't you wash them yet?"

There was no time for any sort of answer, and anything that Atem might have tried was cut off as Jounouchi licked across Atem's fingers. His tongue was warm and quick, darting across the slightly stained skin as smoothly as could be. Thinking was something other people did, so far as Atem was concerned at the moment.

His other hand went grabbing quickly for his wine cup, and he finished it off without taking his eyes off of what Jounouchi was doing for a single moment. Compared to the touch of that tongue, the wine might as well have been water. His blood bubbled through his veins, and he swallowed briefly.

"Thank you." He managed to speak without his voice shaking too much. As coherent thought returned, he swallowed another time or two and looked once more at the blond. "Why did you do that?"

"Your hand was sticky." Jounouchi just grinned cheerfully, and Atem wasn't sure if he should believe him or not. Finally, he went to the refrigerator to refill his cup. The slight chill helped him to get his mind balanced a little bit more.

He smiled slightly suddenly as he closed the door and began to sip at the wine. "I would offer, but I know that you don't like this," he said calmly. Jounouchi nodded, paying more attention to his own drink and yet another date than to anything else. "And it's just as well that I have no pearls to dissolve in it before I gave you some." He had never before spoken to any of his friends, or anyone else, like this. There were multiple reasons for that. Atem thought that Jounouchi deserved this, however.

"Huh?" Jounouchi had his mouth mostly full, but the word was still audible. He swallowed the date before saying anything else. "Pearls in wine? What would you want to do that for?"

Atem waited just until Jounouchi had taken a sip of his coffee before he answered. "Dissolved pearls in wine are said to enhance one's arousal."

It wasn't getting one's fingers licked by a teasing tongue, but seeing Jounouchi spit the coffee halfway across the room was definitely worth it.

He looked forward to seeing if he could find some pearls. Or perhaps…he wouldn't even need them.

**The End**

**Notes:** Tiger Nut Sweets are exactly what they're described as, and were eaten in Ancient Egypt. Pearls dissolved in wine were used as an aphrodisiac back then as well.


End file.
